{"id":15126770,"date":"2026-05-28T12:37:21","date_gmt":"2026-05-28T16:37:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/talarico-kicks-off-people-vs-ken-paxton-campaign-in-houston\/"},"modified":"2026-05-29T13:01:14","modified_gmt":"2026-05-29T17:01:14","slug":"talarico-kicks-off-people-vs-ken-paxton-campaign-in-houston","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/talarico-kicks-off-people-vs-ken-paxton-campaign-in-houston\/","title":{"rendered":"Talarico Kicks Off \u201cPeople Vs. Ken Paxton\u201d Campaign in Houston"},"content":{"rendered":"
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James Talarico is completely unbothered that Ken Paxton, his November opponent for a U.S. Senate seat, is referring to him as  \u201cTalafreako.\u201d His team made T-shirts with the new moniker. He also doesn\u2019t mind that Paxton has referred to him as a vegan, as if that\u2019s an insult that somehow, even if it were true, makes him less of a man. <\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m an eighth-generation Texan,\u201d the 37-year-old state representative told a packed house at Rich\u2019s Houston on Wednesday. \u201cI\u2019ve been eating barbecue since before Ken Paxton\u2019s first indictment.\u201d <\/p>\n

Talarico, a former middle school teacher who is studying to become a Presbyterian minister, won the Democratic primary in March, defeating U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett. Following a heated battle with U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, Paxton was chosen as the GOP nominee in a landslide victory Tuesday night. <\/p>\n

Paxton, who currently serves as attorney general, won\u2019t be easy to beat. Texas voters haven\u2019t elected a Democrat to statewide office in 32 years. While Paxton is plagued with scandals of adultery, fraud and abuse of power \u2014 and was impeached by the Texas House of Representatives in 2023 \u2014 some Republican voters still think he\u2019s the best guy for the job. Paxton was acquitted by the state Senate on the impeachable charges of corruption and abuse of office.<\/p>\n

After Tuesday\u2019s runoffs made clear who will appear on the November ballot, Talarico launched \u201cThe People vs. Ken Paxton Tour\u201d and released a video<\/a> referring to Paxton as the most corrupt politician in America. The messaging appears to be working; Talarico\u2019s campaign raised $3 million in the 24 hours after the GOP runoff was decided. <\/p>\n

\u201cFor 50 years, megadonors and their puppet politicians like Ken Paxton have stolen from us, with their bribes, bailouts and billionaire tax breaks. Ken Paxton has gotten away with it \u2014 they\u2019ve all gotten away with it. But that ends this year, in this state, in this race,\u201d Talarico said. <\/p>\n

Paxton\u2019s camp is already lashing back, calling Talarico a \u201cwoke freak who thinks there are six genders.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTexas is Trump country,\u201d said Republican National Committee Chair Joe Gruters in a statement. \u201cTalarico will regret running for Senate by the time Republicans are done with him.\u201d<\/p>\n

Paxton\u2019s victory was a big deal. Cornyn held the Senate seat for 23 years, so he was not only the incumbent; he was a senior member with more than $100 million to spend attacking Paxton. Cornyn got the most votes in March but because a third candidate, Wesley Hunt, entered the race, neither of the top two vote-getters reached 50 percent and a runoff was forced. Many Texas government watchdogs believe that a highly sought-after endorsement from President Donald Trump fueled voters to cast ballots for Paxton. <\/p>\n

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James Talarico supporters packed Rich\u2019s Houston, an LGBTQ+ nightclub in Midtown, for a rally highlighting his U.S. Senate race against Ken Paxton. Credit:<\/span> April Towery<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

On Wednesday, Talarico\u2019s campaign released a memo outlining the candidate\u2019s \u201cpath to victory\u201d by highlighting the passage of 60 bipartisan bills while Talarico was serving in the Texas House of Representatives. <\/p>\n

\u201cHe has a track record of winning crossover voters,\u201d the memo states. \u201cHe\u2019s running against one of the most scandal-plagued statewide nominees in American political history. To those who say we can\u2019t win in Texas, let us introduce you to James Talarico.\u201d <\/p>\n

At Wednesday\u2019s rally, Talarico seized the opportunity to take a few jabs at Paxton but he mostly spoke of what led him to a career in public service. His great-grandfather, a barber who served in World War II, was part of a generation that asked what it could do for its country, the candidate said. <\/p>\n

\u201cWhether he was cutting his neighbor\u2019s hair or fighting facism on the other side of the world, Poppy was always serving others,\u201d Talarico said. \u201cHe was a faithful man. He tried to live like Jesus, who in the words of scripture, came not to be served but to serve.\u201d <\/p>\n

Talarico referenced a Bible story from Matthew in which Jesus tells his disciples, \u201cThe greatest among you will be a servant.\u201d <\/p>\n

The candidate spoke of being raised by a single mother and how the greatest day of his life was when he and his mom met his adoptive father. \u201cIn a time when there is so much debate about what it means to be a man, my dad showed me,\u201d Talarico said. \u201cEvery Saturday morning he would mow our lawn and then without telling anyone, without anyone asking him, he would go next door and mow our neighbor\u2019s lawn. He just did it. That\u2019s what a man does. He serves those around him. He does what is right even when no one is watching.\u201d<\/p>\n

State Rep. Ann Johnson, D-Houston, and Harris County Commissioner Rodney Ellis pledged their support of the Democratic candidate and encouraged the crowd to stay vigilant over the next six months before the November election. Ellis noted that he supported Crockett during the primary but said, \u201cThat was then; this is now.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMake no mistake about it, Talarico can win this race,\u201d Ellis said. \u201cThe eyes of the nation are on Texas. Let\u2019s show them what we can do. They\u2019re going to come at Talarico with everything they can dream up. You know why they\u2019re gonna dream it up? Because they don\u2019t have anything.\u201d<\/p>\n

Talarico said he expects Paxton’s supporters will attack his campaign as un-American, un-Texan and a threat. “The only truth out of all of those lies is that we are a threat,” he said. <\/p>\n

Johnson, a former Harris County prosecutor who helped lead the impeachment proceedings against Paxton, said that while Paxton was fighting against workers getting paid leave, Talarico was working to ensure that insulin prices were capped to lower healthcare costs.  <\/p>\n

\u201cWhen someone shows you who they are, believe them,\u201d Johnson said. \u201cKen Paxton has shown us who he is, not once, not twice, but over and over again. Ken Paxton sees government as a weapon for the powerful. James Talarico sees government as a tool and a responsibility for all of us, as a community to help others. We are exhausted by Republican corruption.\u201d<\/p>\n

Republicans have attacked Talarico for saying, \u201cGod is nonbinary\u201d during a House debate over legislation requiring students to play on K-12 sports teams based on the gender they were assigned at birth. While Talarico acknowledged he used “provocative” wording, he claims that the statement wasn\u2019t controversial theologically and that \u201cmost Christians believe God is beyond gender.\u201d He further noted that the comment was rooted in his Christian beliefs and his support for transgender Texans. <\/p>\n

The nonbinary statement and others \u2014 including a comment that there are six biological sexes and a reference to wanting to reduce meat consumption \u2014 have been shared repeatedly by Paxton and GOP leaders in an effort, Talarico says, to make him sound crazy. Paxton said in his victory speech Tuesday that Talarico is \u201cthe most extreme radical the Democrats have ever nominated.\u201d <\/p>\n

Talarico encouraged the crowd at Rich\u2019s Houston, a popular Midtown LGBTQ+ nightclub, to consider Paxton\u2019s history when they hear those attacks. <\/p>\n

\u201cI have a legislative record; Ken Paxton has a criminal record,\u201d he said. \u201cHe belongs nowhere close to the United States Senate. Three years ago today, Ken Paxton was impeached by his own party for using his public office to enrich himself and his donors at our expense. Ken Paxton is morally unfit for office. He has failed the character test. Since taking office, Ken Paxton\u2019s net worth has increased 7,000 percent while our wages have remained stagnant.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the days before the GOP primary runoff, Cornyn\u2019s campaign began running ads about a plea deal Paxton\u2019s office offered to a Waco attorney who admitted to repeatedly sexually abusing a child. The deal allowed the man to serve one day in jail and avoid registering as a sex offender. Talarico didn\u2019t bring it up at Wednesday\u2019s rally but a day prior he said in a CBS News interview, \u201cIf Ken Paxton is worried about freaks, he should stop giving Epstein-style sweetheart deals to pedophiles.\u201d <\/p>\n

Talarico\u2019s People vs. Ken Paxton tour continues this week with stops in Nacogdoches on Thursday, San Antonio on Friday, Leander on Sunday and Plano on Monday, June 1. Talarico said Wednesday his team has recruited more than 45,000 volunteers committed to taking on \u201cthis broken, corrupt political system.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cOn November 3, we\u2019re going to do something extraordinary,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019re going to end 30 years of one-party rule in Texas. We have forgotten that\u2019s what politics is supposed to be about: service. Elected officials are not supposed to serve themselves or their donors. They\u2019re supposed to serve us. I think after five decades of corruption, we are on the cusp of a return to those old-fashioned values of my great-grandfather, of the greatest generation.”<\/p>\n

\n

The post Talarico Kicks Off \u201cPeople Vs. Ken Paxton\u201d Campaign in Houston<\/a> appeared first on Houston Press<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Source: Houston Press<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

James Talarico is completely unbothered that Ken Paxton, his November opponent for a U.S. Senate seat, is referring to him as  \u201cTalafreako.\u201d His team made T-shirts with the new moniker. He also doesn\u2019t mind that Paxton has referred to him\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":15126772,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[155],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15126770","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-houston"],"featured_image_urls":{"full":["https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/15126770-james-talarico.png",1024,767,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/15126770-james-talarico-300x225.png",300,225,true],"medium":["https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/15126770-james-talarico-620x464.png",620,464,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/15126770-james-talarico-768x575.png",768,575,true],"large":["https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/15126770-james-talarico-940x704.png",940,704,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/15126770-james-talarico.png",1024,767,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/15126770-james-talarico.png",1024,767,false],"post-thumbnail":["https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/15126770-james-talarico-998x665.png",998,665,true],"ignition_item":["https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/15126770-james-talarico-670x446.png",670,446,true],"ignition_item_lg":["https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/15126770-james-talarico.png",1024,767,false],"ignition_article_media":["https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/15126770-james-talarico-510x510.png",510,510,true],"ignition_minicart_item":["https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/15126770-james-talarico-160x160.png",160,160,true],"profile_24":["https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/15126770-james-talarico-24x24.png",24,24,true],"profile_48":["https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/15126770-james-talarico-48x48.png",48,48,true],"profile_96":["https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/15126770-james-talarico-96x96.png",96,96,true],"profile_150":["https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/15126770-james-talarico-150x150.png",150,150,true],"profile_300":["https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/15126770-james-talarico-300x300.png",300,300,true]},"author_info":{"display_name":"news.iNthacity","author_link":"https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/author\/atombo\/"},"category_info":"Houston<\/a>","tag_info":"Houston","comment_count":"0","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15126770","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15126770"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15126770\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15126771,"href":"https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15126770\/revisions\/15126771"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15126772"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15126770"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15126770"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15126770"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}